Aeroplane



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Feb. 6, 1923.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fl LED Nov. 21 l 921 J5. Vrayzazk? INVENTOR ATTORNEY m m@ @w @u 4V un m.. wm OL ww .R VM A. 2 @u fue pm, Lw. e my 5 sHEErs- SHEET 4 FILED Nov. 21y 192| ATTORN EY WITNESSEJ:

Feb. 6, 1923. Y 1,443,973

A. V. BROQUIST AEROPLANE` Fl LED NOV. 21 192 l 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 k" j wifi? WITN ESSES: ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

ALBEN V. BBOQUIST, 0F CHISAGO CITY, MINNESOTA.

AEROPLANE.

Application filed November 21, 1921.

To all whom it may con-cern.'

Be it known that I, ALBEN V. BiioQUisT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chisago City, in the countyy of Cliisago and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification. A

This invention relates to aeroplanes, and has for its object the provision of means whereby the propeller', or propellers in case a plurality are provided, may be tilted so as to direct a current of air'against the under sides of the Wings for the purpose of liftin the aeroplane vertically for rising, the diminution of the propeller speed and tilting while in flight permitting the machine to descend, the distinct advantage of this arrangement being that the plane ascends and descends in a purely vertical direction thereby rendering it possible to start from a small area or point without` any necessity whatever for having a large landing field, the device being safe and making a fall impossible as long as the motor is in operation. y

An important object is the provision of an aeroplane having wings of novel construction and arrangement whereby a large wing area is produced which will have ample supporting power, the wings being furthermore of a peculiar curvature whereby to retain the current of air to a certain extent for obtaining the maximum lifting power therefrom when the lpropeller is tilted.

Another object is the provision of novel means within easy control by the operator for tilting the propeller from its normal or flying position to its inclined or lifting posi, tion.

A further object is the provision of either nianual or pedal controlled means for tilting the propeller, this means having associated therewith a spring device which normally tends to hold the propeller in its normal position, stops being preferably provided for preventing the propeller from swinging or being tilted in an improper direction.

Yet'another object is the provision of a novel mounting Jfor the propeller shaft whereby it may be inclined to effect the proper tilting of the propeller blade or propeller proper while maintaining the drive connection with the motor.

in additional object is the provision of a mechanism of the above character which Serial No. 516,799.

vment in the art.

lVith,the above and other objects and advantages in view, tlie invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illusti'ated in the accompanying drawings in which: c i

Figure 1 is a plan view of my aeroplane;

Figure l2 is a side elevation thereof; Figure 3 1s a cross sectional view showing the curvature of the body plane;

Figure 4' is'a vertical section through the forward portion of the plane on a larger scale illustrating one form. of tilting mechanism;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross sectional view showing a front elevation of the tilting mechanism Figures 6 and 7 are detail views of the bearing structure for the propeller;

Figures 8 and 9 are detail views of one form of the spring mechanism holding the propeller in normal position;

Figure 10 is a detail view showing a different spring mechanism; and

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing pedal operating means for tilting the propeller. Referring more particularly to the drawings` the numeral 10 designates the body or fuselage of the aeroplane above which-is secured a longitudinally extendin body wing 11 which is transversely curve as shown, and which has its rear end preferably widened as indicated at l2. Associated with this body wing are front and rear upper wings 13 and 14 which are spaced a slight distance apart and below which are disposed front and rear lower wings 15 and 16 respectively which arebraced by means of the usual struts and guy wires commonly employed in aeroplane construction. lt is to be understood that there may be any desired number of sets of win and it is preferred that if a plurality be used that-they be progressively narrower toward the rear of the machine. rlhe object of the specific arrangement slewn is to provide maximum wing area with minimum weight' an'd the spaces between the forward and rearywings may be considered as wing areas as no air is permitted to escape between them, rThe In the further carrying out of my invention I provide a lbearing 22 which may be secured upon the front of the motor or upon a suitable frame mounted on the fuselage at the forward end thereof or at any other desired location. The shaftv 21 passes through this bearing 22 and it might be stated that.

this bearing 'may be provided with roller or ball bearingsand may be made self lubricating. The bearing member 22 might be formed in a wide variety of ways though I have, in Figures 6 and7 illustrated it as being formed centrally upona plate 23 formed with knuckles 24 with which are pivotally connected knuckles 25 formed upon a yoke 26 carrying a bearing 27 and formed with a downwardly extending arm 28. Thebear- 1n 27 is likewise preferably of the ball or roller type and provided with self Vlubricating means. Journaled within the bearing 27, and having limited sliding movement therein is a shaft 29 which carries a propeller 30 of conventional type, and'which is connected with the motor shaft 2l by a universal joint structure 31 which may be of a ball and socket type or which may consist of two independent but closely associated conventional universal joints. It is not absolutely essential that. there be two universalljoints as one might suffice, thou-gh two are preferable as facilitating the movement.

It is of course conceivable that various means linight be employed fortilting the propeller, that is swinging vthe bearing 27 with respect to the bearing 22 and I have shown several expediente for carrying out this action. In the preferred form I provide a bracket 32 which is suitably mounted within the aeroplane body and which is here shown as being of substantially U-shape withA the ends of itsgarms formed with upper and lower bearings 33 and 34 respectively. Journaled through the upper bearings 33 is a control rod 35 carrying a hand wheel 36 within convenient reach of the operator and, this control rod ispreferably supported by an additional bracket or bearing 37. Journaled through the lower bearings 34 is a worm 39 which has its end portions carrying gears 40- meshing with gears 40 on the rod 35. Jonrnaled transversely at the lower portion v of the bracket 32 isl a shaft 41 upon which is secured a segment 42 meshing with the worm 39 and this segment-,carries a dependling arm 43 with which is pivotally connected a link 44 which has its forward end provided with an adjustable yoke 45 pivotally connected with the lower end of the arm 2S. By turning the wheel 36 in one direction or the other it will be seen that the worm will be turned and this will result in swinging the segment 42 which being connected with the arm 28l will swing the bearings 27 through which the propeller shaft is journaled and this will result in tilting the propeller, such tilted position being indicated in one of the figures by dotted lines.

In Figure 11 I have shown a foot mechanism for tilting the propeller. In this forni use is made of a bar 46 which is secured upon the shaft 41 and which has its lower end connected with the movable bearing for the propeller shaft and which has its upper end carrying a. pedal 47.

Regardless of whether I employ the worm and segment mechanism or the pedal for tilting the propeller, it is highly desirable that some means be provided for normally holding the propeller in a flying position,

l that is with its blades extending vertically,

and this of course may be accomplished in a wide variety of ways, though in Figures -8 and 9' I have shown the preferred structure. In these gures .the numeral 48 designates a pair of brackets which are suitably secured with respect to the aeroplane wings or frame and which are formed with bearings 4S? and -with holes 50. The end portions of'the shaft 41 are engaged within these bearings and 'disposed within each bearing is .a.plate 51 having its ends carrying rods 52 which must of course be pivotally mounted and ywhich pass through coil springs 53 interposed between the base of the bearing and the plate 51, these rods passing through the holes 50 and carrying nuts 54. The

:plates 51 are secured u-pon squared portions on the shaft 41 so that wh'en theshaft 41 is rocked by either the worm and segment mechanism or the pedal device the plates 51 will be correspondingly rocked and this will yresult in compressing .the springs 53 at one side of the bearings or brackets 48 so that when .preure which is exerted for tilting the propeller is relieved the springs will operate to return the propeller to normal position. l

Instead of using this spring structure I may employ that shown in Figure 10 which shows bearings 55 within which the ends of the shaft 41 are .journaled and which also shows coil springs 56 encircling the end por'- tions of the shaft and secured thereto at one end and' secured at their other ends vto the bearings 55. The'action is of course the same in this form as in the previously described form. t

In the operation it will be seen that when it is desired to' rise the operator may tilt the propeller by either of the means disclosed so as to cause a current of wind or air to be directed against the under sides of the wings and this will of course result in a lifting action so that the plane may ascend vertically. After the plane has reached the'proper elevation the pro eller is moved into its normal or vertical position whereupon the plane will operate in exactly the same manner as any other plane. If preferred the bracket members associated with the shaft 41 may be provided with any suitable stops for preventing the propeller from being tilted in a wrong direction, this, however, not being illustrated as being a mere mechanical detail. In descending the propeller is tilted as in ascending but the speed 0f rotation thereof is decreased so that the lifting action will be greatly diminished which will allow the device to descend, likewise vertically as in rising.l

I have shown only one propeller and twov sets of power wings though it should be understood that any desired number of wingsl may be used and that a plurality of propel- 1ers may also be employed, all of them being connected with the tilting means and all being simultaneously operated by whichever control device is preferred, the construction in such an event being merely a deduction of what is shown and described. It is also conceivable that the specific bearing structure for the propeller shaft may be formed in different ways from that illustrated and that the other various mechanical details are easily susceptible of modification without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the sub-j oined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an aeroplane, a movable bearing for the propeller shaft, said shaft being jointed,

a horizontal transverse shaft journaled at the forward portion of the aeroplane, a segment secured upon said shaft and having a link connection with said movable bearing, a

worm'meshing with said segment, a manually movable control wheel for rotating said worm, and spring means opposing rocking of said shaft and segment.

2. In an aeroplane, a movable bearing fr the propeller shaft, said sha-ft being jointed, a horizontal transverse shaft journaled at the forward portion of the aeroplane, a segment secured upon said shaft and having a link connection with said movable bearing, a worm meshing with said segment, a manually movable control wheel for rotating. said worm, and spring means opposing rocking of said shaft and segment comprising a s ring member associated with the ends of t e shaft and with stationary supports.

3. In an aeroplane, a movable bearing for the propeller shaft, said shaft being jointed, a transverse shaft journaled at the forward portion ofthe aeroplane, means for rocking said shaft, a connection between said shaft and the movable bearing, and spring means` opposing rocking of said shaft consisting of arms extending therefrom,fsupports for `the arms 'and springmembers engaging the Supports and the arms for normally tending to hold the shaft in'intermediate position. 4. In an aeroplane, a movable bearing'for the propeller shaft, said shaft being jointed, a rock shaft operativelyl connected kwith said movable bearing, means for rocking the rock shaft, and spring means opposing movement of the rock shaft in either direction, consisting of spring elements connected with the shaft and with stationary supports.

v In testimony whereof I alix my signature.

ALBEN V. BRoQUIsT. 

